Kindergarten Graduation

After we wished farewell to our 8th graders, our kindergarten students had a graduation of their own.  Mrs. Liermann and Mrs. Kresyman recognized each student for their accomplishments and put samples of their work on display.  From a self-portrait created last summer to written work from earlier this month, families and friends could see how much the students have developed over the past year.

Congratulations, kindergarteners!  We look forward to watching you grow at OLS!

Summer Movie Series

Kick off summer with your OLS family by joining us for a FREE movie!  We'll show The Lego Movie on Wednesday in Faenger Hall.  Doors open at 7:00, and the show starts at 7:30.  Invite your friends, bring a blanket, and enjoy a movie for the whole family.

All children must be accompanied by an adult; no dropoffs.  Call Kristyn with questions: 314-304-3875.

Farewell, Class of 2015!

This year's 8th graders were a top-notch crew.  They took on responsibilities like crossing guard, office aide, and primary helpers, assisting the primary teachers with various jobs.  They worked with their parents to organize a trivia night and weekly pizza lunches.  They completed service hours, both for the school and for the broader community.  In all these tasks, they set an example for the younger students, showing them how to live out the OLS mission.
 

OLS bid a fond farewell to the Class of 2015 at their graduation last weekend.  The newest alums celebrated in style at their beach-themed extravaganza.  It was a wonderful sendoff for a terrific group of students.

Congratulations, Class of 2015!!  We will miss you!

Heartfelt Thanks

We owe tremendous thanks to all of our faculty, and we'd like to especially recognize four longstanding faculty members who will be leaving OLS at the end of this school year: Mrs. Eldridge, Mr. Hasenstab, Mrs. Hodgson, and Mr. Riggs.

Mrs. Eldridge, Mr. Hasenstab, Mrs. Hodgson, and Mr. Riggs with just a few of the students they've influenced during their tenure at OLS.

These hardworking members of our school community have dedicated thousands of hours to helping our children, touched countless lives, and taught our students lessons that extend far beyond the classroom.  A mere thank you is insufficient to express our deep gratitude.  You will always hold a place in our hearts!

Essay Winners

During the month of May, we had the privilege of honoring several of our junior high students for their writing abilities.  Four 8th graders received the ProLife Award for their essays on prolife topics.  Jack W., Biaggi G., Zellie L., and Sally H. wrote powerful essays that noted the challenges of choosing life in our culture, especially as a teenager.  We commend them for their hard work and strong stance in support of life.

The ProLife Award recipients.

Two outstanding 7th graders, Vincent L. and Faith K., were also recognized this month and received the annual Home & School Scholarships.  To be considered for the award, these students wrote essays outlining their record of responsibility, leadership, and dedication - the hallmarks of an OLS education.  They are fine role models for the younger students, and we are pleased to honor them with this year's scholarship.

The Home & School Scholarship winners.

Congratulations to all!

The Knee High Man

 Last week, Mrs. Hodgson's first graders produced a spring play called The Knee High Man, a selection from their reader.  The original story did not have enough parts for everyone, so the children thought up additional characters and lines so that everyone could have a part.  They came up with some clever ideas, adding an anaconda, a giraffe, a lion, and a polar bear to the original players: a mule, a bull, an owl, Sam the Knee High Man, and June the storyteller.  With their additions, the play had nine parts - one for each student! 

They performed the play for their parents and several other classes.  Along with the play, they also read some fire safety rules that the students composed, recited poems for each month of the year, and sang a song about reading books.  They did a fantastic job of learning their lines, learning all those poems, and singing!  Way to go, first graders!

Field Day

The OLS family - students, faculty, and parent volunteers - had a blast during our annual field day.  Though rainy skies drove everyone indoors, the wet weather didn't dampen anyone's mood.  Students from pre-K through 8th grade gathered in their family groups to compete in games ranging from cup stacking to tricycle races.  The day culminated in a tug of war match between the 7th and 8th grades, a tradition enjoyed by both the participants and the spectators.

Thanks to Mr. Paulus for organizing the event and to the faculty and parental volunteers who made the day a success!

Spirit Saturday #15

 

OLS is proud of a very generous middle schooler, Ben K., who donated to the ProLife Club a significant sum of money that he was lucky enough to find in a store.  After being unable to locate the owner, he chose to donate this money rather than keep it for himself.  It is wonderful to see the virtue of generosity and charity lived out by one of our students. Way to go, Ben!

One Little Seed Spring Sing

Last weekend, One Little Seed presented their Spring Sing, an annual performance for the friends and families of our preschoolers.  The students from all three pre-K rooms sang favorite songs from the year, recited their daily prayers, and demonstrated how unbelievably entertaining a stage full of 3- to 5-year-olds can be.

At the end of the program, they recognized all of the pre-K "graduates" who will be heading to kindergarten in the fall.  Congratulations to all!

Enormous thanks to Ms. Lisa, the dedicated coordinator of our preschool program, and to her tireless staff: Ms. Heather, Ms. Trisha, Ms. Jane, and Ms. Rachel!!

Art: Working with Clay

Throughout the spring semester, students in 1st through 8th grades were given the opportunity to create items out of clay.  Some pieces were painted after the first firing, to be used as decorative pieces while others were glazed and then fired again allowing them to be functional pieces.

1st grade created clay necklaces of varying shapes and then painted them:

2nd grade made dinosaurs after learning about them in science:

3rd grade formed and painted pinch pots:

4th grade began with pinch pots, which they joined together to form rattles.  They then painted them to make fun, creative creatures:

5th grade created decorative coil pots:

6th, 7th, and 8th grades tried their hands at functional pieces: mugs, bowls, spoons, a vase, and even a teapot:

Spring Concert

The OLS bands and choirs produced a top-notch concert before a full house last week.  Directed by Mr. Hasenstab, the Beginning and Concert Bands showcased the instrumental talent of our student performers.  The Beginning Band tackled three selections, which showed their impressive growth and development over the last 8 months.  The Concert Band treated the audience to a wide variety of pieces, from Londonderry Air to the theme from the Pink Panther.  After their final selection, Happy by Pharrell Williams, the cheers from the crowd brought the house down.

Interspersed between the band pieces, Mr. Vizer directed all of the students in a range of choral selections.  The primary grades took the adults on a trip down memory lane with the song Arky, Arky (didn't everyone sing that at summer camp?) while the middle grades warmed our hearts with Shine, Children, Shine.  Rounding out the choral groups, the junior high students sang Hail, Holy Queen in the spirit of the lively nuns from the movie Sister Act.

The 8th grade band members, performing their last concert at OLS.

Thank you, Mr. Hasenstab and Mr. Vizer, for a wonderful evening of music.  We especially thank Mr. Hasenstab for his many years of service to OLS.  You have touched many lives and raised many fine musicians.  Thank you for your dedication to our students!

The band - and the audience - give Mr. Hasenstab a standing ovation.

OLS Ambassadors

 
Last week, the OLS Ambassadors enjoyed their end-of-year celebration.  The Ambassadors are 7th and 8th graders who take on a number of leadership roles in the school.  From giving school tours to volunteering at events, these hardworking students provide an invaluable service to the OLS community.  They tackle these additional responsibilities while still balancing their schoolwork, athletics, and family responsibilities not to mention membership in other clubs and organizations.  Their positive attitude and willingness to be role models for the younger students is truly inspiring.

We want to thank our graduating 8th graders for their dedication and encourage our 7th graders to rest up this summer for their big leadership year in the fall!

Telling Time

Mrs. Kresyman and her kindergarten students are working on telling time.  She points out the hour and minute hands on her large clock, and they mimic her movements on their handheld versions.  Counting by fives, they work their way around the clock.  Ask your favorite kindergartener the time, and he or she just might tell you!

First Communion

Last weekend, our second graders made their First Communion.  With beautiful weather to match their happy faces, the students joyfully celebrated this sacrament, which marks an important step in their spiritual development.  They then celebrated their second Communion on Sunday during 10:00 Mass with the entire parish community as their witnesses.

Congratulations to all of our First Communicants!

Final Speech Meet

Our Lady of Sorrows competed in the final Bellarmine Speech meet for the year at St. John vianney High School on Saturday, April 25th.  The students again did an awesome job!  Francesca's humorous monologue and Faith's serious monologue both earned gold ribbons.  Amy and Maggie's duet performance received a trophy, which is awarded to the top 20% of the category.

Our talented team with their faculty coaches: Mrs. Ryan and Ms. Schweiss.

OLS is very proud of our team!  We're looking forward to next year's speech team.

7GP Regional Poetry Reading

Earlier this semester, our seventh graders had the opportunity to enter the 7GP Poetry Contest, a country-wide contest open to budding poets which was established here in St. Louis five years ago.  The winning poet from OLS, Amy, recently had the chance to share her poem with the region during a special event at The Book House.  At the event, Amy met with other winning poets, autographed copies of the anthology in which her poem is published, and read her thought-provoking poem aloud.  We are proud of you, Amy!

Special thanks also to Mrs. Ryan for coordinating this project and for encouraging our young poets!

Building Bridges

In fourth grade, the students were given a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) challenge to build a bridge.  The class discussed the elements of bridges and studied some examples.  After their discussion, they were given the criteria and materials to build their own bridge.  They worked in groups and followed the steps of the design process: Imagine, Design and Draw, Create and Build, Test and Improve.  It looks like we have some engineers in the making!

Student Reporter News: Camp Wartburg

Continuing an annual tradition, the OLS sixth graders traveled to Camp Wartburg last week.  To learn how they spent their time away from home, students Lisa and Francesca share their firsthand accounts with us:

Last week, the OLS sixth grade went to Camp Wartburg in Waterloo, Illinois.  We did zip lining, pond study, high ropes course, low ropes, whale watch, built fires, and gaga ball.  In gaga ball, you had to hit another person below the knees with a ball to get them out.  When we built our own fires, we learned what to use and what not to use to build a fire if we were ever stranded in the wilderness.  In the evening at the campfire, we learned fun camp songs.  With "whale watch", we had to separate and balance on a board without the board touching the ground.  For low ropes, everyone's feet had to be touching the square of wood that was about 1ft x 1ft.  On the high ropes course, about 30 feet in the air, there were small courses that you had to complete.  On pond study, you tried to catch living things in the pond so that you could study them.  The zip lining was around 30 feet high in the air, too.  Everyone had a fun time.  -- Lisa

Last week, the OLS sixth graders went to Camp Wartburg in Waterloo, Illinois.  When we first go there, we unpacked and met some of the camp staff.  Some of the counselors were Ben (aka Mufasa), Lindsey (aka Duckie), Jenna, Dylan, Jacob, and Laura.  The first thing we did at camp was learn survival skills with Duckie.  We were all split into groups and did many survival activities such as building a shelter and even building a fire.  At camp, we did some really fun activities such as the pond study, high ropes, zip lining, and gaga ball.  One night, Mufasa built an outdoor fire, and we all sat around it, sang camp songs, and roasted marshmallows.  The food there was amazing.  Our cabin was pretty far away from where we ate our meals, but that was ok since we got a pretty nice workout walking there.  A number of bumps and scrapes can be found all over the sixth graders - from bruises all the way to bloody knuckles.  In my opinion, Camp Wartburg was AMAZING!  -- Francesca